


only if for a night

by artemis_west



Category: Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cliffhangers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Intimacy, Love Triangles, M/M, Polyamory, Sad, Separations, Smut, love triangle that becomes polyamory because that's how every love triangle should end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-08-27 10:38:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16700896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemis_west/pseuds/artemis_west
Summary: Robbie kisses him toward the end of the third year.It would be so easy to take, to take what's being offered to him.But Ox doesn't.AU where he does.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> basically what would have happened if ox did decide to sleep with robbie when joe was gone for the three years (yes the title is a florence + the machine song)

Three years.

One month. 

Twenty-six days. 

_ Three years.  _

Ox promised Joe he would wait. He’d promised. And he knew in his heart that Joe would wait for him. It was as good as written in blood, that promise, a pact between mates. Soulmates. More than that. 

But three years was a long time. 

And lonely people make lonely choices, when faced with their bruised and broken hearts.

 

*

 

He didn’t expect Robbie. No one did. 

And later, he didn’t expect Robbie’s feelings. 

Maybe he should have. If he had looked back, paid attention, he would’ve seen it. But he didn’t, not until Robbie kissed him in the woods in the third year Joe and the others were gone, nervous and upset and wanting nothing more than to take away the hurt from the man he’d come to call Alpha. 

And that was unexpected, too, that Ox would take that role, that he’d be given that title. Mark and Elizabeth said it was right. Ox didn’t know if he believed them, but he’d spend every day trying to be worthy of their faith.

“I’m sorry,” Robbie said after he kissed Ox, blushing and staring down at the ground in embarrassment. “I just - “

Ox hadn’t pushed him away. He hadn’t stopped the kiss. And he hated himself for that. He didn’t kiss him back, but he didn’t push him away, either. 

He thought of Joe. 

It had been so long. 

Three years. 

_ Three fucking years.  _

Ox didn’t know if Joe would ever come back, if he would ever see Carter and Kelly and Gordo again. Three years they’d been gone. But they were three years that Robbie had been here with Ox in their place. Three years they’d been getting to know each other, three years they’d been pack. Robbie was here. Joe was not. 

And Ox knew how easy it would be, to take what was being offered to him. 

It didn’t have to be anything. It couldn’t be anything, even if Joe never came back. Maybe that would make it easier, knowing it was only because he was lonely. Because he ached. He wanted. It wasn’t fair, but none of this was. 

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Robbie mumbled when Ox blinked at him, lips still parted. They stood in the middle of the woods, quiet and alone. They had been walking together, as Ox liked to do with all of his Betas - and he was still getting used to that, that he had Betas, that he was now an Alpha. But it felt a little less like he was betraying Joe with each day. Because the pack looked to him like he was born to be an Alpha. And maybe he was. 

Robbie looked to him more than most, always clinging, always eager to please him. He was a good Beta, a better friend. It had taken far less than the three years he’d been here to trust him, to start seeing him as family. Ox knew him. And he knew what Robbie wanted, what he’d meant to do by kissing him. 

He was an Alpha, and he knew what a good Alpha would do, how he was supposed to respond. 

But he could still feel the press of Robbie’s lips against his, and he could feel the traitorous beat of his heart and the terrible, gnawing ache in his chest. 

He closed his eyes. 

He thought of Joe again, his head a maelstrom. 

Three years. Ox hadn’t been with anyone since before Joe, though he’d had stray thoughts here and there, brought on by loneliness and heartache and abandonment. Nights when he’d go to the bar and drink alone. Days when he’d catch the eye of a handsome stranger who came into the garage, and thoughts of rolling bodies, of thrusting hips, of chasing pleasure to erase the heartbreak. Those thoughts were there again now, stronger than before. 

Ox shouldn’t. He shouldn’t. 

“Robbie,” he said, his voice a whisper in the forest around them. “I . . . .” He didn’t know. He was the Alpha, but he didn’t know what to do. What he really wanted. 

“I just wanted . . .” Robbie looked torn when he lifted his eyes to meet Ox’s. They were wet and wide, distraught. “You’re my friend, Ox. My Alpha. I care about you. I want to be something for you, in any way I can. I can feel what you’re feeling through the bonds. I’ve been feeling it for three years. It’s killing me. I just . . .” He sighed, shoulders falling. Ox’s heart ached. 

“I don’t want you to hurt,” he whispered. 

Ox didn’t want to hurt anymore, either. 

When he didn’t respond, just staring at Robbie, trying to parse through the storm in his heart, Robbie’s eyes lowered again. “I know I’m not him.” His voice was quiet, a little sad. “I know I’ll never be what he is to you. But I don’t care.” He raised his gaze to meet Ox’s again, almost defiant this time, as if to prove to himself and to Ox that he was telling the truth. “It’s not about that. I care about you, Ox, and I want to make you feel good. I want to make the hurt go away, even if it’s only for a little while. You don’t have to be alone.” 

He stepped forward. Ox didn’t step back. 

Robbie brushed their hands together, fingertips caressing softly. He leaned his head up. He kissed Ox again, a tender, sweet brush of the lips. 

Robbie was kind. He was genuine. He deserved someone who could give him everything, and Ox wasn’t that person. He could try to give Robbie everything he deserved, but he would always fall short, because Joe would always be there in the back of his mind, between them. 

But Robbie was saying that didn’t matter. He was telling Ox he didn’t mind. Ox didn’t know if he believed him, but that didn’t really matter, either.

If he was a better person, he would’ve said no. 

His Daddy had told him he was gonna get shit. Joe had given him shit for the past three years, and Ox was tired. He didn’t want to feel this way anymore. 

He thought he’d gotten over his anger, most of his mountains of hurt. He thought he’d gotten used to the dull pain in his heart, the feeling like half of him was missing. He thought he’d learned to live with it. 

But Joe had left him. 

Joe had  _ left _ him, for three goddamn years. Ox knew Robbie never would. Robbie was pack. He would always be there. He would always be by Ox’s side, in any way Ox needed him to be. 

It was a comforting thought to have, in the moment. A dangerously comforting thought, curling around his heart like a poisonous snake.

“It doesn’t have to be anything,” Robbie said, hand against Ox’s cheek. “And if you want, it can only be for tonight. I just . . . want you to know I’m here. If you want me.” He paused. “If you need me.” 

Ox closed his eyes. 

He finally found his words. 

“I know,” he said. 

Robbie’s smile was bittersweet. 

When he turned and walked deeper into the forest, Ox followed him.

 

*

 

The night was cold. Mark stood beside Ox on the porch of the main house, looking up at the stars. The others were inside, cleaning up the remains of dinner. Robbie had sat close to Ox during the meal. 

“I know what it feels like,” Mark said quietly, his voice somber. “And I know what you’re thinking.”

“You had others,” Ox guessed, turning his head to stare at his second. “When Gordo was gone the first time.” 

“Yes,” Mark admitted. “And every one of them hurt more because they weren’t him. It felt good physically. But none of them made me feel less lonely. None of them filled the hole in my heart.” 

“You’re saying I’ll regret it,” Ox said. 

“Maybe.” Mark shrugged. “Robbie is different, though. So I don’t know. I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. That you won’t hate yourself after.” 

“He just wants to help me.” That was the bare truth of it - Robbie just wanted to help his Alpha. He just wanted to be there for him. Ox felt like he needed that right now. He didn’t think it was a bad thing.

“And letting him might hurt you both,” Mark said. There was a pause, heavy and full as the moon above. “And Joe, more than anything.”

Ox turned away. “You still think they’re coming back.” 

“I do.” Another pause. “Eventually.”

Ox didn’t want to keep banking on ‘eventually.’ He remembered the promises he and Joe made to each other. Years ago. He’d promised he would wait. 

“I just want one night,” Ox whispered, a tremor in his voice that he couldn’t keep back. “One night to feel . . . something good. Anything other than this.” 

Mark sighed. He reached up and squeezed Ox’s shoulder. “I know.” He nodded before he turned and went back inside. “Do what you need to do for yourself, Ox. Just . . . don’t break your own heart more than it’s already been broken. And don’t break his.” 

Ox wanted to ask if he meant Joe or Robbie, but he didn’t think there was a difference.

Mark went inside the house, and Ox was alone. 

He thought he wanted to cry, but his Daddy said men didn’t cry. 

So he stood there, the wind whispering  _ Joe, Joe, Joe  _ in his ear. 

_ I miss you,  _ Ox thought. He looked up at the moon, shining bright above him. He wondered if Joe was looking at the moon right now, too.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But you left me. He’s here. You’re not.” He let out an unsteady breath. “I belong to you. Always. But you left me. And I . . . I need to feel . . .” He couldn’t find a word to describe it. So he said, “I just need to feel.” 

He stepped off the porch and walked to the old house.

 

*

 

Robbie met him there, when dinner had been cleaned up and the humans of the pack had gone home. 

Ox was sitting on the chair on the porch, head in his hands. He felt Robbie approach, listened to the porch steps creak with his footsteps. Smelled his scent when he came nearer. It had become familiar to him by now, warm and sweet. 

Robbie’s hands in his hair. Arms around his neck. Comforting him. 

Ox leaned his head against Robbie’s stomach, his arms coming up to encircle his waist. 

“Come inside,” Robbie whispered, hand on the back of his neck. 

“Just . . .” Ox felt torn apart by teeth and claws. “Just for tonight.”

When he looked up, Robbie’s smile was sad, but it was understanding. “Okay, Ox,” he said, offering his hand. “Just for tonight.” 

 

*

 

The old house was warm. It didn’t have the same grief attached to it anymore, the same sadness and sorrow Ox had felt after his mother died here. It felt almost like it used to before. Robbie’s mark was everywhere, in the little things. Stray dishes in the kitchen. The TV remotes lying crooked on the coffee table, recently moved. The blanket tossed over the back of the couch. The fridge full of food. 

Robbie pulled him by the hand, passing the kitchen, the living room, the hallway full of old pictures. They went to Ox’s old bedroom. Robbie’s clothes were in the drawers. The bed was unmade. 

Joe was the last person to be in here with Ox. They’d lain side by side in his bed together, just being. 

He was gone the next morning, a stone wolf curled in Ox’s hand. Another promise.

The little statue was tucked away in one of the drawers of Ox’s old desk, nestled in a scrap of fabric to protect it. It wasn’t out where Ox could see it. If it was, he might have changed his mind. He might have told Robbie no. 

But he couldn’t see it. He knew it was there, in the room with him, but he couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see anything except Robbie when the Beta moved in front of him, reaching up to cup his face in his hands. 

“I meant it when I said this doesn’t have to be anything,” he said quietly, eyes open and earnest. “This is just me trying to help you, Ox. I just want to help you. I want to make you feel better. Let me try.” 

Ox nodded, lips parted. 

Robbie surged forward and kissed him, harder than before in the woods, with more intent this time. His hands slid down from Ox’s face to curl against his chest as his tongue reached out hesitantly, tracing the shape of Ox’s lips. For a moment, Ox’s hands hung uselessly at his sides before his body took over control of his mind and he remembered what to do. He remembered how this went. He thought he might’ve forgotten after three years, but the touch and feel of a soft body in his arms brought the memories back. 

He gripped Robbie’s waist, pulling him closer, aligning their lower halves. He deepened the kiss, meeting Robbie’s tongue with his own and licking into his mouth. Robbie made a soft, breathy sound that went down Ox’s spine. He tasted sweet. He felt nice under Ox’s hands. He was handsome with his dark curls and glasses. This didn’t have to be anything, but it could be good. It could be enjoyable for both of them. Robbie deserved that, at least. Ox didn’t want him to feel like he was using him, though that was exactly what he was doing. 

He was using Robbie to get back at Joe, using him to feel less alone, using him to try and fix something that couldn’t be fixed. And he thought Robbie knew that, and didn’t care. Ox didn’t know if that made it better or worse. 

“I’ll take care of you,” Ox promised as he kissed him deeply, hand on his cheek, thumb brushing underneath his eye. “I’ll make you feel good, Robbie, okay?”

“Ox,” Robbie moaned, arms stretching around his neck. “Ox, you don’t have to - I want to do this. I want this. This is my decision. You don’t have to prove anything to me.” 

“But - ” It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. It was cruel and vain and Ox was a terrible person for it. 

“Just let me,” Robbie said, kissing Ox again to silence him. “Please, just let me.” 

He sank slowly to his knees on the ground in front of Ox. 

Ox was powerless to do anything as Robbie undid his jeans and pulled them down, as he licked his lips and pulled Ox’s cock out. Ox wasn’t fully hard yet, only just beginning to stiffen, and then slowly, but Robbie didn’t seem to mind. He bent forward and took Ox’s tip in his mouth, suckling lightly. He used his hand to stroke the rest of Ox’s length, looking up at him through pretty eyelashes. Ox gasped. His hand made a fist in Robbie’s curls. 

Robbie’s tongue was soft silk, wet and warm against his dick, swirling around the crown and across the slit. He gave open-mouthed kisses and caresses to Ox’s cock as he got him hard, dragging his tongue along the underside of the shaft.

“You taste really good,” Robbie said almost shyly, blushing as the words left his mouth. Ox was starting to leak, and Robbie chased the drops of pre-come, lapping them up with his tongue. 

Ox’s head fell back, his hand still tight in Robbie’s hair, unintentionally pulling his head forward, shoving his own cock deeper down Robbie’s throat. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds Robbie made, the noises that spilled from his throat. The feel of a wet mouth around him. With his eyes closed, Ox could almost picture a blonde head below him instead of a dark one, a pair of blue eyes instead of brown staring up at him. 

“Wait,” he said, pulling Robbie off his cock before he came. “I want to . . . .”

Robbie nodded, eyes widening as he followed Ox’s train of thought. “Yes. Please. Fuck me, Ox. I want it.” 

They could do this, and it didn’t have to mean anything. They could do this without being mates. As long as Robbie didn’t bite him, it was fine. It was just sex. Just sex. Nothing else. 

Ox pulled Robbie up to kiss him again, slow and deep, tongue in his mouth to chase his own taste. Pressed against him like this, he could feel Robbie’s hardness against his leg, and he reached down with one hand to grip him through his jeans. Robbie trembled in his arms, hands on his back. 

“I’m not a virgin,” Robbie whispered as Ox kissed his neck, sucking a hickey into his delicate skin. “So don’t worry about me, Ox. I can take you.”

For a moment, Ox wanted to ask who his first had been, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t his place. He very easily could, as his Alpha. But Ox didn’t want to be his Alpha right now. He just wanted to be. 

“Condom?” Ox asked, voice rough as he traced a path to Robbie’s jaw with his lips. 

“No,” Robbie said, voice high. “No condom. I trust you.”

“I trust you, too,” Ox said, unable to meet his eyes. 

He backed Robbie up to the bed, pushing him down and laying on top of him. Robbie’s legs went around his waist, arms around his neck again, hands tangling in Ox’s hair. He kissed him tenderly, softly, tongues dancing together. It felt good. It was how Ox had wanted to kiss Joe before he’d left. How he would have kissed him if . . .

Ox straightened, kneeling between Robbie’s legs to take his shirt off. Robbie made quick work of his own clothes, tossing his shirt aside and shoving his jeans down. He was hard and straining behind his briefs, and he squeezed himself once, moaning low. He used his legs locked around Ox’s waist to pull him back down. 

Ox moved his head to Robbie’s chest, mouthing at his pink nipples. He bit them each gently, rolling the buds between his teeth before he soothed the sting with his tongue, and Robbie whimpered, arching up against him. “Ox, oh God, Ox. Please. Please.” 

Ox got a sick, twisted pleasure from the sound of Robbie begging, and he growled, raking his nails down Robbie’s stomach. He shut his brain off. He locked his heart away. It was his body in control, and his body was the only thing that mattered tonight. 

Ox kissed a trail across Robbie’s belly, down and back up again, returning to his nipples before he moved back up to his neck. Robbie rutted against him, body rolling underneath him. Ox’s cock was still hanging half-out of his underwear, and he shoved the rest of his clothes off completely. Robbie bit his lip and admired his Alpha’s body shamelessly, squeezing his cock at the sight. 

“You’re beautiful, Ox,” he said quietly, cheeks flushed. “You have to know that, right? You’re so beautiful, and I just wish - ”

“Shh.” Ox put a finger to his lips. Robbie sighed, but he quieted. Ox leaned down and kissed him again. “You look good like this, Robbie.”

“Yeah?” He rubbed against Ox again, trying to get friction. 

“Yeah. Real good.” And he did. Ox could admit that without too much guilt. 

“Ox, please, I want you in me.” 

“Okay,” he said. He pulled Robbie’s underwear down his legs and finally freed his cock, hard and red and leaking for him. The sight of it made Ox’s mouth water. It was lust, nothing more, lust and loneliness and need borne of longing. 

Ox leaned down and took Robbie in his mouth, sliding all the way down with ease. He only sucked him once, twice, getting him wet and making him moan, before he pulled off and moved even further down. 

“Hold your legs up,” Ox said, voice deep, eyes glassy. “Spread them for me, okay?”

“Yeah,” Robbie said, doing as he was told. “Okay, Ox.” He put himself on display, legs spread wide and feet up in the air, hands on the backs of his thighs to hold himself open. Ox pressed his thumb against Robbie’s exposed hole and watched the way he bit his lip, how he closed his eyes and shivered. He was such a sweet thing. Sweet and warm and kind, with a soft and gentle heart.

_ He doesn’t deserve me for an Alpha,  _ Ox let himself think before he shut off his brain again. 

He dipped his head and stuck out his tongue, a long, slow stroke against Robbie’s hole, up to his balls and all the way back down. He did it again, pressing his tongue a little harder, and Robbie’s moan curled down his spine. 

“Ox,” he cried, pushing back against his mouth as Ox began to kiss his hole. “Ox, that feels so good, I can’t - ”

“You can,” Ox assured him, reaching up to grip the base of his cock. He could tell Robbie wanted to touch himself, hands trembling with the effort of holding his legs up. 

Ox ate him out for only a few minutes, but it was long enough that Robbie was leaking all over his hand and his cries filled the room. When Ox sat up and slid his finger inside the tight heat of Robbie’s ass, Robbie’s back arched off the bed, his hands clenching into fists. He reached out, grabbing for something, anything, and Ox leaned in to meet him. Robbie’s arms went around him, clinging to him desperately. 

“Ox,” he cried. 

“I know,” Ox whispered, kissing his collarbone. “I know.” He added a second finger, and a third. He’d forgotten to see if he had any lube lying around, but Robbie’s hole was still wet with his spit, and that seemed to be enough for him. Robbie fucked himself on Ox’s fingers, eyes wet, mouth open. His moans were pretty and soft.  _ He _ was pretty and soft. Ox liked him. This didn’t mean anything, but they were friends. They were pack. He was glad for that. 

Ox pulled his fingers out after awhile, and he spit on his hand and mixed it with the pre-come still leaking from his tip to get himself wet. Robbie spread his legs apart farther, and Ox pushed them up and over his shoulders. They didn’t speak, now. Robbie trembled as Ox pushed his cock in slowly. Ox held him while he shook. When he was adjusted to the weight and thickness inside him, Robbie moved, silently asking for more. Ox began to thrust, setting a rhythm that they moved to together. 

They panted against each other, breath warm on each other’s skin. Ox kissed him, cradling his face in one hand, gently stroking his cock with the other. He rubbed Robbie’s slit with his thumb in soft circular motions, the rest of his fingers moving up and down on his shaft, tracing veins and lines. He remembered how to do this. This was what it felt like. 

This was what it should have been like with Joe. Joe trembling beneath him, Joe making these beautiful sounds, Joe crying out his name, Joe tight and warm around him. 

Ox buried his face in Robbie’s neck. He couldn’t look at him anymore. 

“I’m coming,” Robbie cried after Ox tightened his grip on him. “Ox, I can’t hold it, I - ” And he let go, spurting between them, covering Ox’s hand and both of their chests in pearly white lines. Ox fucked him through it, milking his cock of every last drop of come, relishing in each little pulse Robbie gave. 

Robbie stopped moving after that, melting into the bed, but he still held onto Ox, urging him to finish, to keep going, to feel good for as long as he could. He kept his hands in Ox’s hair, fingers massaging his scalp. “It’s okay, Ox. I promise it’s okay. You’re not alone, alright? I’m here. I’m with you.” 

At the last minute, Ox pulled out. He came on Robbie’s cock, striping his balls and hole with come. Robbie closed his eyes as Ox spilled onto him, head thrown back in pleasure. 

Ox collapsed on top of him, head buried in Robbie’s shoulder so he wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. They stayed there like that for a while, chests rising and falling together, getting their breath back in the dark room. 

After a while, Robbie felt wetness on his neck. Ox sniffled. And then his body shook with silent sobs, tears spilling from his eyes and dampening Robbie’s skin.

Neither of them said anything. 

Robbie just wrapped his Alpha in his arms and held him through the night.

 

*

 

Needing Robbie was different than needing Joe. 

Ox began to recognize that in the days that followed, when he would sleep curled against Robbie in his bed, a warm body to keep him from feeling alone during the night. 

The pack didn’t ask questions. They didn’t pry. Elizabeth looked at Ox with a sad smile, and Mark gave him sympathetic looks, but they didn't say anything. 

They didn’t have sex again. But they slept in the same bed, and when they were alone, Robbie held him. Sometimes Ox cried. Sometimes he didn’t. Robbie was always there to comfort him, no matter what. He was a balm. A temporary glue to mend the fragile cracks in Ox’s heart, a small portion of the weight on his shoulders lifted. 

It was working. And it helped. Little by little, day by day, it helped. 

And that was the most unexpected thing of all. 

Ox didn’t know what to do with it.

 

*

 

Three years. 

One month. 

Twenty-six days. 

Mark was right. Eventually, Joe came home. They all came home.

When they walked out of the woods in front of the Bennett house, Joe flanked by Carter and Kelly and Gordo, Ox’s heart faltered in his chest. The world was falling apart around him. There was a tornado that only he could see spinning in front of him. 

Robbie stood beside him. 

He took Ox’s hand. Squeezed it. 

Ox squeezed back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY SURPRISE I WROTE THAT SECOND CHAPTER AND THERES ALSO GONNA BE A THIRD
> 
> joxbie is my new favorite ship thanks bye

“You know you have to talk to him at some point.” 

Ox tensed, shoulders stiffening when Robbie walked into the kitchen. He didn’t turn to greet him, but he didn’t have to; Robbie came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Ox’s waist and leaning his chin on his shoulder. He turned his head to kiss his neck, and Ox hated that it made him relax. He felt guilty. Joe was just next door, yards away, and Ox wasn’t with him. They weren’t speaking. Hadn’t spoken except for a few words in the weeks since Joe and the others had returned to Green Creek. 

It had been awkward. Tense and uncomfortable. Ox had spoken to Gordo, because it seemed the easiest. They were on the path to forgiveness. He’d spoken to Carter and Kelly, which had been hard, but they’d worked through it. They were on the path back to being brothers. 

But Ox hadn’t spoken to Joe. Joe waited for him on the dirt road every day when Ox got home from the garage, and Ox only ever said two words: “Not yet.” He saw how it hurt Joe every time the words left his mouth. He saw how it destroyed him. It destroyed Ox to say them. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t ready to forgive Joe yet. 

Three years of living without him couldn’t just be erased. 

When Joe came back to Green Creek to find Robbie and humans mixed in with his pack, he hadn’t been happy. To say the least. Especially about Robbie. Especially when he found out what Ox and Robbie had done together. 

“He tore a room apart in the house,” Carter had told Ox a few days ago. “Then Mom got mad and made him go outside, so he tore apart the woods. You should see it. It’s a fucking mess.” 

They had been careful not to show affection around Joe. No one had said anything, too afraid of the volcanic eruption that would decimate them all. Ox and Robbie barely touched. But it didn’t matter. Joe could smell it. He could smell Robbie’s scent all over Ox, and that was enough to drive him into a frenzy. 

Ox knew he needed to talk to him. To explain himself. He hadn’t cheated, not exactly. But he and Joe had made promises to each other. Promises that Ox broke. 

Ox didn’t know if Joe broke those promises, too. He was afraid to ask, afraid to know the answer. It would be both better and worse if Joe had been with someone else while he was gone. Worse because Ox wanted to be his first. Ox wanted to be his everything. Better because then Ox wouldn’t have to feel so guilty. 

“I know I do,” Ox said quietly as Robbie nuzzled his neck. “I will. Soon.”

“I know it may not seem like it,” Robbie whispered as he kissed Ox’s skin gently. “But I want you two to work things out. Even if that means we can never be together again, that’s okay, Ox. I just want you to be happy.” 

Ox didn’t understand it. “How can you be . . .” He stopped and turned to face Robbie, brows drawn together. “How can you be okay with this? How can you act the way you’ve been acting? I don’t get it. Do you have feelings for me or not?”

“Of course I do,” Robbie said, eyes wide. “Ox, I lo - ” He stopped and blushed fiercely, shaking his head, eyes on the ground. “I care about you more than anything or anyone. I want you to be happy. And I knew from the beginning that you and Joe were mates, or would be one day. I knew I could never be more than your friend, but that’s okay. Being pack,  _ your  _ pack . . . it’s enough. I don’t know how I can explain it in a way that you’ll understand.”

When Ox didn’t respond, Robbie looked up, lips parted. “Do you have feelings for me?”

Ox felt like he was being torn in half. He didn’t know. He didn’t  _ know.  _ Robbie was pack. Robbie was his friend. But he was more than that. It was impossible for him not to be, after what they’d shared. After what Robbie had done for Ox. He was more. He would always be more. 

“I . . .” He tried to gather his thoughts into some form of coherency. Tried to think clearly. Joe and Robbie warred in his head. He loved Joe. Joe was his mate. That would never change. But he couldn’t just cast Robbie aside like some used thing, couldn’t just pretend he didn’t mean anything to him. Every time he tried to imagine explaining that to Joe, it didn’t end well. 

“Do you need space?” Robbie asked quietly, backing away from him. “I can give you that, Ox, if that’s what you need. I’ve been there for you since Joe came back because I knew you didn’t want to be alone, but if you need time to figure things out, if . . . if you fix things with Joe and decide you can’t be . . . or if he doesn’t want me here . . .” Robbie steadied himself, took a deep breath. His eyes hardened, hands balling into fists. “Then that’s okay. I’ll leave if he wants me to go. He’s the Alpha of all.” 

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Ox whispered, his heart breaking. Robbie didn’t deserve this. And Ox didn’t deserve Robbie. 

“Because you’re  _ my  _ Alpha,” Robbie said, standing straighter. “ _ You’re _ my Alpha, and I’d do anything for you. Just to see you happy.” 

“I don’t . . .” Ox shook his head, his heart breaking, earthquakes wracking his frame. He slumped against the kitchen counter. Robbie bit his lip and moved towards him again. Ox was in pain, and he wanted to help him. Ox could see it on his face. 

“Let’s just eat,” Robbie said quietly after a minute. “Let’s eat breakfast, and then . . . then you need to go talk to Joe. And after that, we’ll see what we see. Okay?” He smiled, and it was sad and small, and Ox hated the sight of it. He felt responsible for it, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He didn’t know how to fix any of this, and it was killing him. Joe never should’ve left. Maybe if Joe hadn’t left, Robbie never would have showed up, and . . . 

But he resented that thought the minute it passed through his head. Robbie was pack. He was always meant to be pack. It wasn’t fair to wish him gone. He was a part of Ox’s life, and Ox never wanted him to leave. Not now. Not ever. 

He needed Joe to understand that. But he also needed Joe to understand that Ox wasn’t abandoning him. Ox still wanted Joe with every fiber of his being, every part of who he was. But he . . . he wanted Robbie too. He needed Robbie. 

He needed them both. 

“Don’t leave,” Ox said, voice strangled. Robbie’s eyes widened again. “I won’t let Joe make you leave. You can’t go.”

Robbie nodded, holding out his hand slowly. Ox reached out and took it, squeezing his fingers tight. “I won’t. I won’t, Ox. I promise.” 

It was enough to hold Ox through breakfast. He believed Robbie. Robbie had never lied to him, had never broken a promise. Ox trusted him.

“I’ll talk to him today,” Ox decided as the two of them were getting dressed to go to work at the garage. “After work.”

“Good,” Robbie said, smiling. He leaned in and kissed Ox’s shoulder, taking his hand. “I’ll be there if you need me . . . after.”

Ox knew he could count on that. 

 

*

 

It was a long day at the garage. The hours seemed to drag on, most likely because Ox kept staring at the clock, waiting until the moment when he would see Joe again and tell him he was ready to talk. He kept thinking about what Joe’s face would look like when he didn’t hear the words “Not yet”; when he heard “Okay, Joe, come inside” or whatever Ox was going to say to him. Ox didn’t know quite just yet. He was nervous. Excited. Scared. Scared more than anything. 

He was afraid Joe wouldn’t accept Robbie. Wouldn’t want Ox now that he’d been with another man, another wolf. But that was ridiculous. Joe had given Ox his stone wolf. They were supposed to be mates. Ox didn’t know of any other werewolves that had more than one mate, but he had to think it was possible. Otherwise, why would he be having such strong feelings for both of them? What he felt for Robbie wasn’t diminished by what he felt for Joe, and what he felt for Joe, what he’d always felt for Joe, had never waned an inch because of his feelings for Robbie. He had room in his heart for more than one person. More than one mate. 

It surprised him a bit, to realize that he was capable of loving them both at once. But the realization gave way to acceptance. Robbie was alright with it. He just had to hope that Joe would be okay with it, too. That Joe would understand. Maybe it was easier for Ox because he wasn’t a wolf, and that’s why he had the capacity to want more than one person. He wasn’t a wolf, but he was an Alpha, and that . . . that was something. If he’d been a wolf, would this have even been an issue? If he’d been a wolf, maybe he never would have done what he did. He always would have waited for Joe. But he wasn’t a wolf. He was a human, and he had a human heart. He was flawed and imperfect like the rest of his species. He made mistakes. 

No. Robbie wasn’t a mistake. Not entirely. Ox couldn’t think that.

He barely got anything done at work, frustrated and confused thoughts jumbling around in his head. The boys mostly left him alone, including Robbie, though he hovered on the edge. When the time came for Ox to leave, Robbie kissed Ox and wished him good luck. Gordo watched from where he was standing with Rico, Chris, and Tanner. The shop boys already knew what was going on with Ox and Robbie, and they’d never said anything about it other than that they were happy for Ox, that they wanted their Alpha to be happy. Gordo didn’t get it just yet. Ox had to talk to him, too, still. They’d already had a conversation, but it had been about why he’d left with the others, the time spent apart from each other. Not this. Not yet. 

Joe was waiting for him at the end of the dirt road, like he always was. 

As Ox approached him, he could see the resignation on Joe’s face, the downcast eyes, like he knew Ox was going to walk by him again. 

But Ox stopped in front of him. 

Said, “Hey, Joe.”

Joe looked up at him, eyes shining. 

“Hey, Ox,” he said.

 

*

 

They didn’t talk about Robbie at first. At first, it was calm, but then it was a fight. It was throwing blame and accusations.  _ Why did you leave me  _ and  _ Did you ever love me  _ and  _ How could you.  _ It was about the three years, one month, and twenty-six days at first, about what they’d both been through without the other. 

Joe was explaining his reasons for deciding to come back, and then he said, “I missed you every single day, Ox. I thought about you all the time. Every hour, every minute, every night. I dreamed about you and hoped you were dreaming about me too. And then I came back home to find another wolf with my mate. Touching you like you belonged to him.” His hands curled into fists, claws coming out, eyes turning red. “Do you know what that felt like?”

Ox looked at the floor, anger and hurt and betrayal warring inside him, all fighting for space with his heartbreak. 

“You said you would wait for me,” Joe whispered, and his voice sounded miles away from what it had been just before. Broken and bruised.

“He isn’t you,” Ox said, trying to think of how to explain it in a way that would make sense to Joe. “He’ll never be you. You’re my mate, Joe. Always. But he . . . he helped me. I was  _ broken  _ when you left. After a while, when I stopped thinking you were coming back, Robbie was there for me. He helped me through it. I needed someone there for me, and he was.”

“ _ You didn’t have to sleep with him!” _ Joe shouted, eyes blazing, teeth bared, pain written clear on his face. Ox’s shoulders slumped. He hung his head. He knew Joe was right. 

“Maybe I didn’t,” he admitted, unable to meet Joe’s eyes. “Maybe if I had waited for you . . . we would’ve been able to . . . the three of us could’ve . . .” He didn’t know. Part of him regretted sleeping with Robbie when he’d promised he would wait for Joe. But they hadn’t mated. It was only sex. It was only to fulfill Ox’s selfish needs. 

But no. He’d agonized over it for days after it happened, and Ox finally came to the conclusion that there was a reason he slept with Robbie when he did. He wanted to. He liked Robbie. More than liked him. He was falling for him. Maybe at the time, he’d slept with him because he was missing Joe, because he needed something and Robbie was willing to give it to him. But there was a deeper desire than that, and Ox knew it. 

“The three of us?” Joe spat, derision in his tone. “There is no ‘the three of us,’ Ox. It’s you and me. It’s always you and me.” A shadow fell over his face. “Or that’s the way it was supposed to be. That’s how I thought it was.”

“But you left,” Ox said, anger suddenly fueling him. “You left me behind, and Robbie showed up because of it. He came here because the wolves in Maine sent him to see why the Bennett pack was suddenly without an Alpha. And he’s  _ my  _ pack now. He’s my family. I won’t turn him away.” He needed to make that clear. 

“I wasn’t with anyone else while I was gone,” Joe said, his tone dangerously quiet. His claws were still curved, his eyes still red. His chest rose and fell with every heavy breath. “No one else, Ox. Because we promised we’d wait for each other. Maybe not in so many words, but I thought . . . I really thought . . . .”

And then there were tears in his eyes, sudden and swift, and Ox felt like a hand was being shoved through his chest, ripping out his heart. Joe’s lip wobbled. Tears streaked down his face, and he shook his head, looking away like he couldn’t stand the sight of Ox anymore. 

“It’s my fault,” he whispered, voice breaking. “I left you. I left, and you found someone else. It’s my fault. I was stupid to think you would wait for me. It wasn’t fair.”

“Joe, no. No, no, please.” Ox surged forward, needing to touch him, to kiss him, for Joe to understand that he still loved him, would always love him. 

He grabbed Joe’s hand, holding it tight between both of his own. Joe sobbed, and Ox sank to his knees, unable to hold himself up anymore. Joe fell with him, collapsing into Ox as they knelt on the floor, both of them crying now. 

“I’m sorry,” Ox whispered. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have slept with him. I love you, Joe. Please.”

No matter if he regretted sleeping with Robbie or not, Ox had made a promise. He’d broken it. Joe hadn’t. Joe had kept it. Even if he’d left, even if he’d been gone for longer than he thought he’d be, he’d kept his promises. 

They’d both hurt each other, but Ox realized he’d hurt Joe more. 

“Does he . . .” Joe hiccupped, sniffling as he pulled his face away from Ox’s chest. “He makes you happy?”

God, it pained Ox to say it. Every word scraped him raw because of the wounded look on Joe’s face. “Yes,” he said raggedly. “He . . . he made me forget what I was feeling. That I was . . . he didn’t make me forget you, Joe. No one, nothing could ever make me forget you. He didn’t make me forget how I felt -  _ feel _ \- about you. But he made me forget that I was hurting. And he - he’s my friend and I - ”

Joe shook his head, shoulders slumped, eyes to the floor. He looked beaten. Defeated, but resigned. He sniffled again, wiping his arm across his face. 

“You’re my mate, Ox,” he whispered, not bothering to hide his emotion. An Alpha was strong. An Alpha was powerful. But in the face of his mate, an Alpha was raw and vulnerable. “I gave you my wolf. I’ll never, ever ask for it back. And it means no matter what, I will always love you. I’ll always want you to be happy. If - ” He shuddered, trying to extricate himself from Ox’s embrace, trying to get up and move away. “If you’ve found something with him, then I won’t be the thing that breaks it apart. I hurt you enough when I left. I don’t want to keep hurting you.” He wouldn’t meet Ox’s eyes. His own eyes were still glowing red, teeth still sharp, his body language and expression contradicting his words. 

“No, hey. No, Joe. Joe, please. Please, stay.” Ox grabbed his arms, begging him, trying to plead with his eyes, with his heart, with everything he had in him. He may not have been a wolf, but he was an Alpha, and he knew something about pack bonds now. He tried to push his feelings along the string that connected him to Joe. Still tethered them together, even after three years.

It wouldn’t be smart to talk about Robbie anymore. They could . . . they could figure that out later, Ox thought. Right now, he needed to make Joe understand that Ox still belonged to him. That they belonged to each other. He needed to make Joe feel better. To make his pain go away. 

They’d said most of the things they needed to say in the beginning. They’d hashed out their feelings of betrayal with each other, their anger over the three years. Most of it had been said and done. 

It was just this, now. All that was left was this. 

Ox cupped Joe’s face in his hands. Joe squeezed his eyes shut tight, a fresh onslaught of tears marking wet trails on his cheeks. He was trembling, unstable, claws out, half-growling, half-whimpering, his heart in pain. Ox was crying now, too. Now it caught up to him; he was overwhelmed with the feeling of Joe Bennett in his arms again. 

Three years, one month, and twenty-six days was too long, but no amount of time could make Ox forget what this felt like. Holding him. Touching him. Feeling him close, smelling his familiar scent. Getting caught in the tornado. 

“Look at me,” Ox whispered, leaning their foreheads together. “Joe, please look at me.”

Joe opened his eyes. The red in them was gone. Ox’s whole world was blue. 

Ox kissed him for the first time in three years. 

No amount of time could ever erase this.

 

*

 

They lay together, afterwards, holding each other. Their hearts beat as one. Ox’s old room was quiet. Ox knew Joe must have been able to smell Robbie in here, must have been able to smell Robbie the whole time, but he hadn’t said a word. He knew it was probably why Joe was so aggressive about leaving his scent in the room. He’d done it when he walked in, touching everything, marking it all. He’d picked up the stone wolf he’d given Ox so long ago and stared at it for a long time before finally closing his eyes and setting it back down gingerly. He’d run his hands over everything. Then, when their clothes came off, Joe did his best to smother himself in Ox, or Ox in himself. Ox couldn’t tell the difference, and he didn’t care. He wanted it just as much. Not to erase the scent of Robbie, but to remember the scent of Joe. 

When Ox came, Joe rubbed it into his skin, and when Joe came, he did his best to make sure it covered Ox as much as possible. It was intentional, this. It was personal. 

Robbie would smell it. But Robbie would . . . he’d told Ox he would be okay with it. Robbie probably expected this, knew it would happen. 

But it wasn’t fair. 

Ox shook his head as he lay beside Joe, sweat and come drying on their skin as the sun set outside the window. It wouldn’t do to tear himself apart again. Not yet. He would have to talk to Robbie. He would have to talk to Joe again. Both at once, to make them both see. 

But for now, it was just this. Ox buried his nose in Joe’s hair and inhaled, and Joe made a soft, sleepy noise, curling into Ox. For the moment, at least, Ox knew Joe was content. Relaxed. Maybe even happy.

For now, it was just this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since this is mostly following canon just with ox/robbie thrown in, i didn't go into too much detail for the initial fight or for the sex scene between joe and ox since we already know what happens there! i kinda just rewrote the scene to fit the fic but i promise there will be more smut later


	3. Chapter 3

They showered, though it was clear Joe wouldn’t mind if they didn’t. Ox wanted to. Even with the shower, though, he knew the rest of the pack would still be able to smell it on them. 

Joe went in first, and as Ox was about to follow him, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw Robbie’s name on the screen. His heart squeezed in his chest. 

_ Everything go okay?  _ Robbie asked.  _ Do you need me? _

_ Everything’s okay,  _ Ox replied.  _ For now. I’ll need you in a bit. I want you both here to talk. _

_ Okay,  _ Robbie sent back a few minutes later.  _ Let me know when you want me to come over and I’ll be there. For now I’m at Gordo’s. _

_ Is he interrogating you? _

_ Kinda. Wants to know what’s up _

_ Sorry,  _ Ox said, feeling guilty that he’d left Robbie alone to face Gordo’s wrath. 

_ Anything you don’t want me to tell him?  _ Robbie messaged. Ox only had to think about it for a second. 

_ No. Tell him everything. He deserves honesty.  _ He wanted to tell Gordo about Robbie himself, but he needed to be with Joe right now. He trusted Robbie to explain it. That didn’t mean Gordo would understand, but . . . maybe he would. Ox thought about Gordo and Mark. He didn’t know the whole history between them, not entirely. But he knew enough. 

Since their conversation that night outside of the Bennett house, Mark hadn’t said much else to Ox on the subject of Robbie. After they’d slept together and he’d seen the change in Ox, he kept his opinions to himself. The whole pack, humans and all, had seen that whatever was going on between them was a good thing, though Elizabeth and Mark couldn’t help but be . . . wary was probably the best word for it. Joe was their family, and for years, as long as they’d known Ox, they had known what Ox meant to the future Alpha. They had known what he was to Joe. It couldn’t have been easy for them to see Robbie occupy such a significant space in Ox’s heart. Though they’d accepted Robbie as pack, this was different. This meant betraying Joe, in a way. Ox was most worried about Elizabeth, what the wolf mother would think. And he realized suddenly there was one more person he needed to talk to, to set things right with. 

He sighed. If he’d only known Robbie’s arrival in Green Creek would make things so complicated.

He had to keep telling himself he didn’t regret it. Had to keep reminding himself that he wouldn’t give up Robbie’s presence in his life for anything. Once everything was smoothed over between everyone, it would all be worth it. 

Ox tried to think of what Thomas might do in this situation. What he would say. Would he understand why Ox had done what he did? Or would he be angry that he’d betrayed Joe’s trust? Knowing Thomas, Ox thought it might have been a mix of both. He would’ve understood, but he wouldn’t have been any less disappointed in Ox for the way he’d gone about things. 

But if Thomas were here, Joe never would have left. And none of this would have been an issue. 

Ox must have spent too long warring with himself, because a minute later, Joe came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped down his chest, and Ox’s breath was stolen from him. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, standing in front of Ox without touching him. He seemed hesitant to reach out, unwilling to upset the delicate balance between them. 

Ox shook his head. “I have to - ”

Joe sighed and shut his eyes. His jaw tightened. “I know. There are things we still need to talk about.” He tried to smile, but it was tight and tense. “Call Robbie over here.”

“Joe - ” Ox tried to say, to apologize, to beg, to plead, he didn’t know, but Joe shook his head. 

“It’s okay,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm. “Just call him.”

Ox didn’t know what else to do except listen to him. He stood there, hands limp at his sides as Joe walked back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Ox didn’t know now if he was supposed to wait for Joe to finish or join him in the shower. 

After he heard the water turn back on, Ox picked up his phone again and numbly dialed the familiar number he knew by heart.

 

*

 

Joe was out of the shower by the time Robbie arrived, and he and Ox sat waiting in the kitchen. They had sat in awkward silence, and Ox’s heart started beating wildly in his chest the moment he saw Joe tense, smelling Robbie’s scent approaching. Robbie knocked, softly. 

“Come in,” Ox called, voice raw. Robbie opened the unlocked door and walked into the kitchen, pausing on the threshold. He looked back and forth between Ox and Joe, face wary. 

“Gordo knows,” he said softly by way of greeting. Ox nodded. 

“How’d it go with him?”

Robbie shrugged, smiling weakly. “I handled him. He’s cautious. Wary of me, and he has a right to be.” He glanced at Joe, and Joe’s eyes narrowed. Robbie quickly broke eye contact. “He doesn’t understand . . . what happened, really. I think he still needs to hear it from you.”

Ox nodded. He’d expected as much. And he would tell Gordo, explain it in his own way. After he dealt with the situation at hand. This was what mattered right now. 

“Sit,” Ox said, gesturing to an empty seat at the table. Robbie hesitated before he chose a seat equidistant between Ox and Joe, not wanting to encroach on the Alpha’s space or get too close to Ox for fear Joe might get angry. 

Ox was about to speak, to start things off - though he didn’t know how - when Joe snapped at Robbie without warning. 

“I know you can smell it,” he said, voice sharp. “You can smell me on him, just like I smelled you on him the second I got back. But I don’t sense jealousy from you. There’s no envy. You’re sad, but you’re happy, too, and I don’t fucking get it. What the hell is wrong with you? What are you playing at?”

“Joe,” Ox said, eyeing the claws and teeth and red irises. Joe wasn’t looking at him. His heavy stare was fixed on Robbie, accusing and angry. Robbie was calm in the face of it. Strangely, it gave Ox calmness, too. 

“Ox is my Alpha,” Robbie said quietly, meeting Joe’s eyes without reservation. He held his chin high. “The only thing I want is for him to be happy. I’m his friend. I’m part of his pack. I want to please him, to make sure he’s okay. I love him.” Joe growled, loud and fierce. Robbie barreled on. “But I know you’re his mate. I know you’re meant to be together. I was just trying to make him feel better. Because he was broken, Alpha Bennett, and I didn’t want him to be anymore.”

He shrugged, as if it were as simple as that. Joe’s eyes were dangerous slits, his claws digging grooves into the wood of the table. 

“He’s mine,” Joe threatened, voice low and deadly. “He is  _ mine. _ ” It was at odds with what Joe had claimed last night, that he would step back if Ox had found happiness with Robbie. But Ox didn’t blame him for that. 

“I know,” Robbie said calmly. He didn’t look scared, and Ox admired him for his bravery. “But he’s my friend. And I’ll always be there when he needs me.”

The words weren’t said with anything close to an accusatory tone, but the look on Joe’s face made it seem like they had been. He looked like he’d been shot, slumping back against his chair, face pale. 

“Joe,” Ox said in a strangled voice. “He didn’t mean it like that. And I don’t - I’m not mad at you anymore, okay? I promise.” He wasn’t. The hurt would take some more time to fade completely, but the bruise ached less than it had before. The act of having been with Joe was the strong foundation of a bridge between them. 

Agitated, Joe shook his head and stood up from the table, scraping his hands through his hair. It was starting to grow back from its shaved state, getting longer the way Ox remembered it. Joe left the kitchen, moving into the living room. Ox followed him, a magnet on its track. Robbie stood up and followed Ox, touching his back gently for reassurance. Joe’s back was turned to them; otherwise, Ox knew Robbie probably wouldn’t have dared touching him. While his back was still turned, Ox reached out and squeezed Robbie’s hand once, quickly. It gave him a little courage. Some strength. Robbie smiled and moved towards the wall, at a safe distance away from Joe. 

“Joe,” Ox said. “Please look at me.” It took a minute, but finally Joe turned, his eyes a maelstrom of emotion. Ox’s chest hurt. 

“I don’t know what to do, Ox,” Joe said, sounding like he was begging. “I don’t - you’re my mate. You’re  _ mine.  _ I want you to be mine forever. But I left you and I made this happen and it’s my fault and now he’s - he’s part of your fucking  _ pack. _ And I said I wouldn’t get in the way if you wanted to be with him but  _ God,  _ it fucking hurts, Ox. It hurts.”

“You didn’t make this happen,” Ox said forcefully. “This isn’t your fault.” He took a deep breath. “I want to be yours forever, too. And I want you to be mine. But I will not cast him aside. I can’t, Joe. He’s my friend. He’s . . . part of me.” He glanced at Robbie, who stood by the wall, just waiting. Not expectant, not hopeful, not anything. Just waiting.

“Here’s the thing,” Ox said, staring at Joe and Robbie as they both stood in front of him, waiting for a clear answer. And they deserved one. “I . . .” 

He looked up at Joe first. Joe already looked heartbroken, downtrodden, as if he knew Ox wasn’t going to pick him. He looked on the edge of tears, and Ox couldn’t handle it. He never wanted to be the cause of that look on Joe’s face again. So he said, all in one breath, “I love you, Joe.” 

Joe looked like he didn’t dare to hope. His smile was small and cautious. “Yeah?”

Ox nodded. “Yeah. Always. I love you and I always will. You’re my mate.”

Robbie’s face fell, though Ox knew he was trying not to let them see it. Robbie’s smile tried valiantly to stay in place. It was a near thing. His smile wobbled a bit before Robbie squared his shoulders, stepping back behind Joe a little. Ox stepped forward, hand outstretched. 

“Wait,” he said. Joe’s eyes sharpened. “Robbie, I need you to know that I love you, too. You . . . you’re my mate, too.”

“You can’t have two mates,” Joe snapped, defensive and hurt. Robbie crossed his arms over his chest, shrinking into himself. 

“Why not?” Ox asked, voice breaking. “Why do I have to choose just one of you?” He took in a shaking breath and tried to hold back the tears he could feel coming. “Listen to me. Please. I want you both. I  _ need  _ you  _ both.  _ I won’t choose between the two of you. Don’t make me choose. I want both of you, and if you can’t live with that, then . . . .” He shook his head. If they couldn’t live with that, then he didn’t know what would happen. 

“I can live with it,” Robbie said softly, eyes wet as he smiled at Ox. “I can live with it, Ox.” He looked at Joe nervously, guarded against the expression on Joe’s face. Joe’s hands were curled into fists. His jaw was clenched. Ox’s heart was breaking the longer he didn’t speak. He needed Joe to understand. 

“Joe,” he whispered. “You have to know that he isn’t a replacement for you. I love you both in equal capacity. Not one more than the other. I never stopped loving you, Joe, even after you left, and I love you even more now that you’re back. But you have to understand that Robbie . . . I love him just as much because of what he did for me. And I’m not gonna stop now that you’re home. I’ll just love you both.”

Joe was silent for a time. Robbie looked at Ox, and Ox could see the question in his eyes:  _ Should I stay?  _ Maybe it would be easier if Robbie gave them some space. But he and Joe had already talked alone. And Ox didn’t want Robbie to leave. Ever. 

Ox stepped forward, suddenly filled with the need to touch Joe, to feel him, thinking that maybe if they were touching, it would be easier. He closed his eyes when their foreheads pressed together. When he inhaled Joe’s scent, so familiar and comforting, a scent he’d been starting to forget, he clutched Joe’s hand. Joe was breathing unsteadily, his claws digging into Ox’s skin as he squeezed his hand back. He was trembling.

“Please,” Ox begged, tracing his thumb over Joe’s cheek. “Joe. He makes me happy. But you do, too. Just let me have you both.”

Joe wrapped his arms around Ox and held him so tightly Ox couldn’t breathe. 

“I can’t promise I’ll be . . . nice,” Joe said quietly into Ox’s shoulder. “Right away. It’ll take some time. But I’ll try. For you, Ox. As long as I get to have you, nothing else matters.”

“You have me,” Ox said, his hand in Joe’s hair. “Always, Joe. You have me.”

It was a start. Ox hoped that soon, if given enough time, Joe and Robbie would come to love each other, too. But as long as they could both love him, and they could coexist together with him, he would be okay. 

He kissed Joe, lips brushing softly against his. “I love you, Joe Bennett.”

Joe let out a quiet half-sob, finally breaking. “God,” he whispered, shaking in Ox’s arms. “I love you too, Ox.” 

Ox held him until he stopped crying, and over his shoulder, he smiled softly at Robbie. Robbie watched them with a gentle, fond expression on his face. 

Everything felt a little green. 

 

*

 

They fell asleep in Ox’s bed, Joe and Robbie on either side of Ox. Robbie was being careful, cautious; he and Ox could tell that Joe was hesitant, wary, so Robbie didn’t try to touch Joe or do anything that might upset him. Joe had growled possessively when Robbie curled up on Ox’s left side on the bed, but Ox soothed him with a kiss to his temple. Joe had claimed Ox’s right side and hidden himself from Robbie’s view by burrowing into Ox. 

Ox knew Joe was just being stubborn, and part of him wanted to be annoyed by it, but another part of him found it terribly endearing and adorable. 

He knew Joe would come around. Eventually. But he was willing to put up with his pigheadedness for a while. That Joe was even trying at all meant everything. 

When Ox woke up in the morning and his mind registered the presence of Joe and Robbie beside him, the weight of their bodies in the bed, the warmth of them both pressed against him, he felt at peace. There was nothing else to describe the feeling except peaceful. He hoped it never went away. 

Robbie’s head was on his chest, one of his legs thrown over Ox’s and one of his arms wrapped around Ox’s waist. Joe’s head was on Ox’s shoulder, his hands curled in Ox’s shirt, body pressed as close to Ox’s as he could get. Ox had an arm around each of them. It hadn’t been a terribly comfortable position to sleep in, but Ox didn’t mind. He supposed they’d find different ways to fit together in the time ahead of them. 

He smiled at the thought of a future with the both of them. 

He didn’t have to choose. 

Joe was the first to wake after Ox, a few minutes later. He woke to the sight of Ox running his fingers through Robbie’s hair while he slept, the sensation of Ox’s other hand slowly running up and down Joe’s back. Joe glanced at Robbie, frowned quickly, and then schooled his expression into something kinder. 

“Hi,” he whispered, nuzzling Ox’s neck. Ox smiled. 

“Hi,” he whispered back, turning his face to kiss Joe. For as long as he lived, he would never take for granted the privilege of being able to kiss Joe Bennett. 

Joe slipped his tongue into Ox’s mouth and his leg in between Ox’s, eager and yearning to make the years of separation between them disappear. He moaned quietly when Ox kissed him deeply, hand on the back of his head. He kissed his way down Joe’s jaw to his neck, and Joe gasped. 

“We have to be quiet,” Ox whispered in his ear, scraping his lips over the stubble on Joe’s face. “I don’t want to wake Robbie.”

“Maybe we  _ should _ wake him,” Joe said, a defiant glint in his eyes. “He can watch.”

“Stop,” Ox said, reaching down to squeeze Joe’s ass. Joe arched against him, a low whine escaping from his throat. “You said you would try. Don’t be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” Joe said, eyes beginning to glow dangerously. 

“You wouldn’t be proving anything to him if you made him watch,” Ox said, knowing that’s exactly what Joe was thinking. “He already knows.”

Joe rolled his eyes. For a moment he looked upset, but it disappeared when Ox brushed their noses together, cupping his face. 

“I told you it wouldn’t be easy,” Joe said, pouting just a little, looking slightly insecure. “I said I would try. But I told you I couldn’t promise I’d be nice at first. I can’t promise I won’t growl at him when he touches you in front of me, or snap at him when he wants to run with you when we’re wolves. I don’t like sharing you.”

“I know,” Ox said, kissing the side of his mouth. “But you said you would try. And eventually, I know things will be okay. Because I plan on living with both of you. And I hope that one day, it won’t feel like sharing. I want you to love Robbie, too. To see what I see. And I want for him to see what I see in you.” When Joe looked doubtful, Ox just smiled. “Trust me. It’ll all work out. I’m keeping both of you, so you’ll just have to learn to live with it.”

Joe sighed, frown deepening a little. “I guess it’s what I deserve. It’s my fault for leaving you.” He looked down, hands tightening on Ox. Ox’s heart lurched. “When I was gone, I thought about it almost every night, that things might be different when I came back. And I told myself I was okay with that. That I had to be okay with that, because I was the one who left you.”

“Hey,” Ox said, silencing him. “Shhh. We can talk about that later, okay? We don’t need to talk about it now.” He was happy, content, satisfied as the morning light poured in through the bedroom window and warmed all three of them. He was serene with the men he loved beside him. Words had already been said. Ox knew there was maybe a bit more to say, other conversations to have, but it could all wait. This moment, now, felt too good to be true, too good to interrupt. Like a dream. He wanted to live in this moment for now.

“Okay,” Joe said, nodding, looking relieved. “Yeah, okay. Sorry.” He leaned in to kiss Ox again, smile on his lips.

Then Robbie stirred, making a noise and adjusting his position in his sleep. His leg fell away from Ox’s and his arm moved up so his hand was resting by his head on Ox’s chest. Ox and Joe stilled until they knew Robbie wasn’t waking up just yet.

Then Joe glanced at Ox, smiled mischievously and squirmed his way down the bed, heedless of Robbie’s sleeping form still half on top of Ox. Ox tried to stop him, to shake his head and say,  _ No, bad idea,  _ but Joe just gave him that mischievous smile. He made his way between Ox’s legs and dragged the band of his sweatpants down, taking the elastic of his underwear along with it, freeing Ox’s cock. It was soft, but that wasn’t a problem to Joe. He took Ox in hand and started to stroke him, slow and quiet. Ox bit his lip and leaned his head back against the pillows, watching Robbie for any sign he might wake up. 

Joe winked before he stuck out his tongue and slowly, obscenely licked Ox’s cock from root to tip, then wrapped his lips around the head and sucked hard. Ox’s hand fisted in the sheets, and he fought to keep in a moan. Joe used his hand to stroke the base and his mouth and tongue to get the head wet, hungrily lapping up the pre-come that started to leak from Ox’s tip. He licked his lips and made a sound that went straight to Ox’s balls; he was fully hard in an instant. He reached out with his hand and gripped Joe’s hair, tugging on it lightly. Joe moaned around his cock, moving his hand away so he could take Ox all the way to the back of his throat. 

“That’s it,” Ox encouraged in a quiet, raspy voice, eyes moving back and forth between Robbie sleeping on top of him and Joe going down on him. A thrill went down his spine, adrenaline making his heart race. What if Robbie did wake up? What would he do?

Joe meant to tease him, to drag it out. He curled his tongue around the head of Ox’s cock and pulled off to stroke him again, cheeks flushed, pupils blown wide with lust. He was drooling a little, pre-come and spit coating his lips, and Ox reached down to wipe the corner of Joe’s mouth. Joe sucked it off his thumb and went back to sucking his cock, swallowing Ox’s cock down like he’d never get to do it again. 

He wanted to wake Robbie up, Ox knew. 

A minute later, he got his wish. Robbie stretched, yawned, and blinked awake, nuzzling his face against Ox’s chest. It took him a minute to realize what was going on, but when he did, his eyes widened, jaw going slack as his mouth opened in surprise. He looked so good in the morning light, sleep-tousled and smelling like Ox. Ox kissed him before Robbie could say anything, moaning into his mouth as Joe curled his tongue against the vein right under the head of his cock. 

“Sorry we woke you,” Ox said into Robbie’s mouth. Robbie laughed breathlessly, waking up completely as Ox peppered his face with kisses. 

“It’s okay.” He turned his head, looking down at Joe. Joe’s eyes flashed at him from his position between Ox’s legs. 

Robbie grinned, seeing the challenge and accepting it. 

He raised an eyebrow at Ox and kissed him once more, biting his lip and tugging on it lightly before he pulled away and crawled down to Joe’s level at the foot of the bed. Ox gasped when Robbie leaned in, mouth coming dangerously close to Joe’s on his cock. Joe glared at him, but Robbie kept the grin on his face, licking up and down Ox’s cock when Joe pulled away. Ox could feel and hear Joe’s low growl deep in his chest, but before he could say anything about it, Joe was leaning in again, fighting for space with Robbie. Then both of their mouths were on him, one on either side of his cock. Ox had never felt anything like this before, and his eyes neary rolled back in his head as he arched up towards them. 

“Fuck,” he moaned, one hand in Joe’s hair and the other on the back of Robbie’s neck. “God, Joe . . . Robbie . . . .”

Robbie reached down to tug on Ox’s balls, and Ox gasped as Joe rubbed his thumb against the slit of his cock. Joe had a look on his face like he was waiting for more praise, so Ox babbled insensibly as Joe’s tongue went back to teasing him. Robbie’s mouth was still working him, and their tongues met over Ox’s shaft, around his dripping head. Joe looked conflicted, but Robbie was clearly enjoying himself. 

“You’re doing good, Joe,” Ox said, wiping the torn look off Joe’s face and replacing it with a proud gleam in his eyes. “So good. Both of you are. Look at you both, making me feel good together. Such good boys.”

When he’d slept with Robbie, gentle encouragement and reassurances seemed to work for him, but maybe Joe needed more than that. Ox’s words had an effect on Joe, his face going soft and flushed. 

“Good?” he asked, licking his lips. “You like it?”

Ox nodded, his fingers in Joe’s hair tugging on the blonde strands again. Joe moaned, biting his lip. Ox smiled. 

“Good,” Ox said. “Keep going, baby. You and Robbie make me come. I’m almost there.” 

Joe nodded eagerly and leaned back down, mouth meeting Robbie’s again. Robbie was moving his tongue slowly, softly over Ox’s cock, laying wet open-mouthed kisses on him. Joe mimicked him after a moment. The warm, silky feeling was enough to drive Ox over the edge. With the two of them trying to suck him off at once, Ox gave a warning sound before he came. 

Joe closed his eyes, and Robbie stuck out his tongue as Ox’s come landed on their faces. They both stroked him through his orgasm, hands working relentlessly on him until Ox was twitching from overstimulation, milked dry. He tried to get his breath back as Joe and Robbie crawled up the bed to lay beside him again, both of them looking satisfied with themselves. 

“That was fun,” Robbie said cheerfully, which made Joe roll his eyes. Ox tried to laugh, but his heart hadn’t quite settled down enough yet for him to take a proper breath. He waited a few more seconds until he could speak. 

“You both need to get off,” he said, noticing their obvious bulges. Robbie shrugged like it didn’t matter to him one way or another, but Joe nodded, skimming his nose along Ox’s jaw. 

“You do it,” he said, taking Ox’s hand and placing it over his crotch. “I want you to do it.”

“Okay.” Ox kissed his forehead. “Lay back.” He trailed a finger through the come on Joe’s face, gathering it to use as lube so it wouldn’t be dry. Joe grinned and took his cock out of his pants, making himself comfortable next to Ox. He spread his legs a little and whined softly when Ox started stroking him, as if all he’d wanted was the touch of Ox’s hand on him, warm and firm.

As Joe buried his face in Ox’s shoulder, biting his shirt, Ox turned his head to look at Robbie. Robbie was watching them, his own hand hovering near his waist. 

“Let me,” Ox said gently. “I’ll take care of you both.” They’d made him feel good together; he wanted to show them he could have them both at the same time, that it could work like this, between them.

Robbie nodded, shifting his hips so he could tug his pants down just enough to free his cock. Ox used his free hand to clean the come from Robbie’s face and slick it over him, stroking his cock in the same rhythm he was slowly rubbing Joe. They both curled towards him, into him, wanting to be closer. 

Joe latched onto Ox’s neck, and Robbie claimed his mouth, kissing him hungrily, mewling while Ox jerked him off. It didn’t take very long to bring them both to release, even though Ox was going slow, his fists moving up and down at the steady pace he set, thumbs dragging over their leaking slits, teasing their swollen heads. It was a strange feeling, to have both Joe and Robbie in hand; they were different in proportion, Joe a little thicker but Robbie just a bit longer, Joe uncut and Robbie cut, both of them hot and hard and perfect. For a moment, Ox was overwhelmed that he got to have both of them. That Joe hadn’t rejected him, turned away his offer. He would get to have them both as mates. 

Robbie came first, and then Joe, making a mess of Ox’s hands. 

“There you go,” Ox whispered as Robbie came with a high moan, hands wrapped around Ox’s arm. His knees bent up as he orgasmed, and Ox kissed him sweetly before Joe commanded his attention, whimpering and pulling at his shirt. 

“Ox, I’m close, please - ” And when Ox turned to him and crushed their lips together, sucking on his tongue, Joe came too, trembling and seeming so delicate as he moaned into Ox’s mouth. His hand fell over Ox’s on his cock, and their fingers twined together. 

“Good, Joe,” Ox whispered as Joe came down from the high, skin heated and eyes a little red. “You did good.”

Joe smiled, blushing. He glanced at Robbie and then averted his eyes, hiding his face in Ox’s shoulder. “Yeah, that was - fun.”

Robbie grinned. Ox felt a little bubble of happiness inflate in his chest and carry him up towards the ceiling, and he grinned, too. He kissed the top of Joe’s head, turned to kiss Robbie’s cheek. Robbie pulled his pants back up and rolled out of bed, heading to the bathroom to find something to clean them up with. Joe watched him go, and when he was gone, he climbed on top of Ox, clingy and possessive. 

“Joe,” Ox said with a chuckle, arms wrapping around his mate.

“It’s . . .” Joe looked like he was trying to find the right words. Ox waited for him patiently. Eventually, Joe raised his chin and said, “I can get used to it.” The words were slow, but they were honest, and Ox’s heart swelled. 

“Yeah?” he asked, hope burning bright inside him. Joe smiled and nodded. Ox held him closer. “Me too, Joe. I’m glad.”

They were holding each other when Robbie came back with a warm washcloth, and Robbie smiled as he methodically cleaned them all off. He waited for permission to touch Joe, and when Joe nodded, Robbie ran the washcloth over him. Joe closed his eyes. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled when Robbie was done. Robbie nodded. 

“No problem,” he said. He tossed the washcloth away and looked at the time on the alarm clock on the bedside table. “We should probably get dressed. The pack will all be next door soon to train.”

Joe looked at Ox, a question in his eyes. This was one of those things they still had to talk about - there were two Alphas now, two packs. They had to become one, somehow. But Ox knew they could do it. He felt like anything was possible now that he had Joe back, now that Ox knew he didn’t have to choose between him or Robbie. They could do anything. 

“Together?” Ox asked, taking Joe’s hand. 

“Together,” Joe said, a smile softening his face. 

The three of them got dressed and walked out into the sun, side by side by side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why have love triangles when you can just have polyamory amiright
> 
> i know i did leave things kinda open-ended, ox still has to talk to gordo and elizabeth and mark, but for now this fic is finished and i really like how it turned out!

**Author's Note:**

> oxbie is my new fave ship thanks, i might write a second chapter to this where ox and joe have a Talk and ox deals with the repercussions of sleeping with robbie, robbie and joe have a conversation, etc., we'll see!! i've still got all my other WIPs currently controlling my life
> 
> happy thanksgiving tho y'all!! hope u like it


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